The right to development : a responsibility of a particular state or of the international community?

Abstract

The idea of the right to development has evolved ever since the foundation of the United Nations and has gained more and more importance through out the years. In 1986 the General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Right to Development. This hallmark document held that " the right to development is an inalienable human right by virtue of which every human person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized". The Declaration is not binding as such, but it reflects binding customary law. The key concept of the right to development has certain implications for questions such as who are the duty bearers of the right to development, which political system is most likely to respect and further the right to development and whether the international community bears some responsibility for supporting states whose resources are inadequate to ensure the human rights of their citizens, or for providing direct assistance to those individuals in dire need. In this content, my thesis will discuss the joint responsibility of the State and of the International Community in realizing the right to development.